Caltrain will spend nearly $1 million as part of a settlement with the family of a 15-year-old South San Francisco boy hit and killed by a train while riding his skateboard in 2008, officials said.

The settlement stems from a wrongful-death lawsuit the family of Anthony Rea filed in May 2009 in San Mateo County Superior Court, and later moved to federal court, against Caltrain and Amtrak, whose engineers operate the trains.

Rea was struck and killed by a southbound Caltrain while crossing the tracks at the San Bruno station, where he had just exited a northbound train, in April 2008. The agency and witnesses said at the time the El Camino High School freshman rode his skateboard around a lowered crossing arm and was listening to headphones when he was hit.

Although the exact settlement is still being worked out, federal court documents show the two sides reached an agreement during a mediation hearing Aug. 13 pending the Caltrain board of directors' approval.

Caltrain's board, in a closed session hearing Thursday, authorized its attorneys to reach a settlement and add $990,000 to its budget "to cover a portion of the expenses related to the settlement," according to a statement released by the agency.

It's also unclear how much of the amount would go to the family, attorneys fees or other court costs, as Caltrain declined further comment until the case is over.

Nevertheless, it is another financial blow to an agency that is warning it could descend into commute-time only service by the end of 2011 to deal with its budget woes.

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Agency officials said the payment would come out of a reserve fund that has dwindled to about $5 million, which officials said was already a "ridiculously low" number for an agency with nearly a $100 million budget.

The account is meant for emergencies such as last year's horn noise problems and the 2008 cracked bolster problem that required fixes to several train cars.

Attorneys at a San Francisco-based law firm representing parents Cecilia and Dean Rea also said they could not comment until after the settlement was final.

In the lawsuit, the attorneys said the agency "encouraged and allowed" pedestrians to enter the track in the area where Rea was hit.

It also blamed the engineer for failing to "slow or stop the train and failing to control the train so as to avoid hitting" Rea.

Caltrain on Friday did not make available the transit police report, citing the ongoing case.

Mike Rosenberg covers San Mateo, Burlingame, Belmont and transportation. Contact him at 650-348-4324.

SETTLEMENT

1 Caltrain's board of directors agreed to settle with the family of a 15-year-old hit by a train in 20082 Caltrain's board of directors voted to set aside $990,000 to cover expenses of the settlement